Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Snap (NYSE:SNAP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday morning.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on SNAP. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Snap from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Snap in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Snap from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of Snap in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Snap in a report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.23.

Snap Trading Up 5.4%

NYSE:SNAP opened at $4.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 3.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a PE ratio of -19.85 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $5.03 and its 200 day moving average is $5.44. Snap has a 12 month low of $3.81 and a 12 month high of $9.77.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. Snap had a negative net margin of 6.72% and a negative return on equity of 18.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.08) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Snap will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Snap

In related news, CTO Robert C. Murphy sold 343,945 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.88, for a total transaction of $2,022,396.60. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 4,963,581 shares in the company, valued at $29,185,856.28. This trade represents a 6.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 16,729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.60, for a total transaction of $93,682.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 512,811 shares in the company, valued at $2,871,741.60. This represents a 3.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,868,059 shares of company stock valued at $15,855,631.

Institutional Trading of Snap

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Snap in the 3rd quarter worth $176,697,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Snap by 874.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,066,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,239,000 after purchasing an additional 9,033,644 shares in the last quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in Snap during the first quarter valued at about $25,300,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Snap by 1,191.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,903,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,330,000 after buying an additional 3,601,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its position in Snap by 53.3% in the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 10,300,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,420,000 after buying an additional 3,582,223 shares in the last quarter. 47.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Snap

Snap Inc is a camera and social media company best known for developing and operating Snapchat, a multimedia messaging application that allows users to send photos, videos and messages that disappear after being viewed. In addition to its core messaging service, Snap offers a suite of augmented reality (AR) tools, including custom Lenses and Filters, that enable users and third-party developers to create interactive and immersive experiences. The company also provides advertising solutions that allow brands to engage audiences through Snap Ads, Sponsored Lenses and Discover content on the platform.

Founded in 2011 by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, Snap has continually focused on innovation in camera technology and AR.